Food Fight

I was waiting in line at the library and zoned out at their display of new books when one cover jumped out at me--Daniel Imhoff's Food Fight: The Citizen's Guide to the Next Food and Farm Bill. As I began reading the book, I thought about putting it down simply because it didn't feel like any new information for me, but I was glad I continued to read it as I did learn a lot. Imhoff goes through the history of the Farm Bill as well as the history of food stamps. He looks at issues such as factory farming, soil conservation, hunger in relation to the Farm Bill, ethanol subsidies, the USDA recommendations (vs the foods that are subsidized), and more. Overall it was a lot of information I knew from several different sources, but I enjoyed reading it compiled into one book which included a lot of great graphs to show startling realities like the decline of small farmers or the rise in obesity. I also loved how the back had an activist tool kit with resources for organizing to advocate for real change in the next Food and Farm Bill. It's a worthwhile read for anyone interested in the problems with our food and farming system that result from this bill that is revised every 5-7 years. It's certainly a very important issue that effects our health and the environment and the book inspired me to get active before Congress passes the next bill.